The Effects of Location-Based Mobile Personalization on Users' Behavior

Firms send short message services (SMS) to customers’ mobile phones to promote their products. Many firms personalize this content to increase the relevance of the recommendations and to avoid overloading users with too many messages. This research examines the effects of location-based personalization on users’ intentions to use personalized mobile SMS. We draw on motivational theories to develop six hypotheses to predict the effects of location-based personalized mobile services. Through a two-week study, we found that perceived enjoyment and perceived community involvement are major drivers motivating users to accept location-based personalized SMS. Interestingly, precision of personalization is not significant in influencing users’ intention. Hedonic motivators are more influential than utilitarian motivators. These findings provide empirical evidence of the effects of location-based personalization and help firms understand and quantify new mobile commerce opportunities. Overall, this research sheds light on personalization studies by examining the role of location in personalization.